My Own Prison
by Colonel Karl L Schubaltz
Summary: Would you bear the eternal weight of Immortality for love?? **Schubaltz/OC also MILD Karl/Thomas**
1. Welcome to Sovereign

  
  
  
  


**My Own Prison**  
_Zoids: Guardian Force_  
_Part One_  
Written by _Col. Karl L. Schubaltz_

  
  
  
  
  
**Author's Notes**-- _Zoids Guardian Force does not belong to me. But Mjr. Darien Aethelwulf does however, use discresion_   
  
  
  
Fort Sovereign was one of those places that you didn't want to be caught without your Zoid? The region Ft. Sovereign sits on sufferes from a Russian winter all year long, it is that far North. A lot of pilots have to upgrade their zoids' systems to handle such cold climates. The one place in Planet Zi that he dreaded going to was Ft. Sovereign, although it was a heavily secured Imperial fort. There was a large mountain range behind Ft. Sovereign, that's where a lot of the ice zoids practiced their manuevers. "Colonel Schubaltz." An officer saluted, his breath seen in the frigid weather. "The Iron Kong Mk-II and DiBison are now upgraded to handling the climates." "Thank-you, Captain." The strawberry-blonde colonel continued to hold the coffee mug close to his body. The ship finally docked at the fort's harbor, causing it to jar a little upon impact. There was three figures standing there, bundled in bearfurs and whatnot. The handsome colonel got off the ship, his lieutenant brother in tow. Shaking the snow out of his hair, he walked over to the taller of the two figures and saluted. "General Trisha?" "Long time, Colonel Schubaltz." The older woman smiled and saluted, she had the markings of a first-rank general. "Looks like you still hadn't put meat on them bones." "He eats, ma'am." The lieutenant responded with a smile. "But he's one who doesn't gain an ounce of fat on him." The grey-haired general laughed out loud, she patted Col. Schubaltz on the back and smiled. "Welcome to Ft. Sovereign, the coldest place on Zi." They walked for the door of the base, looking at all the defenses installed. "All the defenses are of optical capabilities." "Correct, lieutenant." Trisha responded with a nod, then the doors opened. "We're using the optical system to help us better track the ice pirates. They like to use Helcats." "Typical." The lieutenant scoffed as the doors closed, that got a reaction from the other man. "Our radars spotted something huge below the mountains." Trisha reminded them, her blue eyes sparkled with the dim light of the hallways. "We're guessing it's another large zoid." "I see. Have you looked into excavating it?" "We can't really excavate it, Schubaltz. You know that. The mountain is a dorment volcano, most of the ice here is unsuitable for melting and consumption because of the high levels of toxins in them." "Understood." "Hey, what are all these Bearfighters here for? Bearfighters are Republican zoids." "They were pirated from the Ice Bandits of the area, confiscated by our elite forces." "That's why they probably switched to Helcats." "Yes, Col. Schubaltz." Trisha nodded, adjusting her glasses. "Although they are nothing more than common thugs and rogues, they are too well-organized to be that." "You think they were a unit dismissed by the Empire?" "Or the Republic." Trisha looked at the younger man with an angry look on her face. "There is a Republican base 50 miles east of here, they are always mooching on our supplies." "..." Schubaltz nodded, the elevator stopped. Trisha walked down the hall, leading the two men with her. On the farthest end was a pure black König Wolf with red eyes and what looks like no weapons systems at all. They spotted a very handsome young man with nice, silky blue hair repairing its' leg. He wore black pants, black combat boots and the only thing on his back was his uniform jacket and even that was held on by the shoulders. His body was very studly and he was a looker. His glasses glittered off the dim light, he turned to look at Trisha. "Major, you're almost out of uniform." "Stare all you want, old hag." The bishounen Major smirked playfully and blew her a kiss. "You ain't getting a piece of this man's ass." "Shapen up, Major Aethelwulf, we got company from the capital itself." "I shall run along and practice my curtsey." The major buttoned his jacket once and crawled down the ladder. The strawberry-blonde colonel suddenly caught the handsome major's eyes and his fancy. He tipped his hat upward and continued down the hallway. "I don't know what to do with him." Trisha sighed defeatedly, then they continued down the hallway toward her office. "Colonel, your Iron Kong and DiBison have fully been loaded into the hangars." "Thank-you." Col. Schubaltz nodded, his hands on his hips. "We should be getting a comminicae from the capital." Thomas reminded the older woman, his hand on his Beek unit. "So soon? You just got here." Schubaltz adjusted his hat as they entered the office, Trisha sat down in her seat and cleared her throat. Before they began, the silent alarms sounded. "Those damned ice pirates!" Trisha snarled, her hands on the arms of her chair. Before a word was spoken, Schubaltz and Thomas ran into their respected zoids and tromped out into the snow. There were Helcats everywhere, Schubaltz's eyes narrowed. "Beek, send over the sound waves!" Beek whirled, sending them both sound waves of every Helcat, but Thomas noticed something off about one of them. He looked up at the horizon, Schubaltz opened fire immediately. "Karl!! S-something's wrong!! I just feel it!" "We can't talk right now!" Thomas's eyes locked onto the snowy field, he saw the heat signatures of an all-familiar weapon. "KARL!!! SOMEONE'S FIRING A CHARGED PARTICLE BEAM!!!!" Schubaltz turned around to see the ice pirates with a badly maintained Geno Saurer. It was missing one arm and its' leg was badly wrecked. Firing the beam, the leg broke off, sending the Geno Saurer flying backward into the snow drift. The beam nailed the walls of Ft. Sovereign, the Helcats continued to fight off the two Imperial officers until the oddly constructed one arrived. It was so close to the Iron Kong Mk-II when it released a massive flare right in plain sight of the cockpit. Schubaltz screamed, covering his eyes of the intensely bright light. When the flash was gone, he couldn't see at all, Schubaltz was shooting his cannon blindly. "Karl!!!" "Christ, I can't see, Thomas!!" "That was a flare bomb!" Thomas's eyes widened, he used Megalo Max to destroy the remaining Helcats. But the Geno Saurer was able to pick itself up again with its' one arm. The purple and black zoid charged its' beam, aiming at Schubaltz. Everything was pitch black to him, Schubaltz couldn't see the hand in front of his face. The Geno Saurer fired, to Thomas's utmost shock the Iron Kong Mk-II was engulfed in the beam. After the blast, the Geno Saurer collapsed again but the Iron Kong Mk-II was no more. "**KARL!!!!!**" Beek whirled once then Thomas looked up at the flagpole on one of the towers. Standing there in full Imperial officer's uniform, actually standing there with no problem was Mjr. Aethelwulf. Cradled in his arms like a bride in a groom's arms, was Col. Schubaltz. "This is what I call a close shave."   
  
  
"Retinal scans show some damage, but nothing that can't be corrected with the right amount of laser surgery and cybernetic graphting." The doctor said, removing the retinal scanners from Schubaltz's eyes. Rubbing one eye with his black leather gloved hand, Schubaltz reached for his shades with the other hand. He was in civilian clothes which was nothing more than a yellow and green sleeveless skinsuit with kneehigh brown boots. He slid the shades on his face, looking at Mjr. Aethelwulf. "I would have been dead if it wasn't for you." "You don't need to thank me, Colonel." "You deserve an award of some sort." "How about I make him your second-in-command?" Trisha asked, smiling brightly. "I refuse." Schubaltz turned his attention to the grey-haired general. "You know what happened between me and my last right-hand man." "Yes, but Darien is very trustworthy, he hasn't failed me in the past." "No, I refuse." "Permission to slap you in the face, Colonel." Trisha growled, anger in her eyes. "I'm 68-years-old, Schubaltz. I want to retire in peace, I don't want Mjr. Aethelwulf to be burdened with my....." "Wendy?" Schubaltz's voice lowered, he saw the look in her eyes. "Alright, appoint Aethelwulf as my second in command." "Thank-you. I knew I could count on you." "Well, yeah... you trained me."   
  
"I heard stories about you, Colonel Schubaltz." Darien walked down the hallway with the bishounen colonel. "Yeah, my reputation preceeds me." Before walking into his temporary office, a muscular arm stopped the blonde Imperial officer from going any further. Schubaltz turned around to see that he was nose-to-nose with Darien. "You have the prettiest green eyes, I can even see them through your shades." "Uhhhhhhh...." Darien grinned slyly and very devilishly, he finger pressed against Schubaltz's nose. "You're cute when you 'talk' dirty." Schubaltz gasped, blushing, Darien pulled away from the colonel and flicked his bluish-grey bangs back. "You stolen my heart, Colonel, I'm touched." He walked away, still folding his arms. When Darien was out of earshot, Schubaltz's back hit the wall, almost in a spell. "He's definately a tease... but there's something quite attractive about him."   
  
  


**-Continued-**


	2. Trisha's Confessions

  
  
  
  


**My Own Prison**  
_Pt. Two: Trisha's Confessions_

  
  
  
  
"Good, I see you reached Sovereign, Colonel." Rudolph's voice spoke, his face on the view screen. "As Trisha might have informed you, there was a large, unknown zoid found there but we'll need help excavating it." "The zoid is sitting on a large volcano." Thomas responded for his brother. "Excavating it without setting off the volcano will be a big problem. The ice here has large traces of Carbon Monoxide, that means the volcano is almost ready to erupt." "Then this is an evacuation job more than an excavation." "Have faith, Sire." Darien spoke up, smiling. He pushed his glasses back up his nose with his middle finger. "Whatever that zoid is, we'll get it out, evacuate Sovereign and make it home in time for dinner." "I wish I did have your faith, Mjr. Aethelwulf." Darien rested his arm on Schubaltz's back and grinned with a foxy-sly grin. "Well, if you're as clever as I am, you can see around these little obsticles." Darien gave Schubaltz such a heart-melting glance that Schubaltz's reaction was to blush deeply. He pulled his hat down and coughed. Thomas turned back to the viewscreen and smiled. "I trust that Trisha's expertise in the area will pull us through." "Speaking of General Trisha..." Darien stood up and pulled his black glove down his hand tighter. "Where is she? I hadn't seen her since she was about to lay the smack on Karl's ass." "She's probably resting." Rudolph smiled, then turned his direction toward off screen. "I gotta go, Homeliff is calling." The screen shut off, allowing Darien to get a little frisky. "Colonel, if you have the time, I like to take you out for hot cocoa and a round of skiing on the mountain." "I'm busy." Schubaltz snapped back, trying to maintain composure. "Suit yourself." Darien smiled after he frowned, the smile hid the hurt very well. "My offer still stands." He walked out of the communications room and headed straight for the infirmary. Inside, Trisha was finished putting her uniform on, Darien stopped when he heard the docor talking. "The tumor's gotten bigger, madam General. The kemotherapy hadn't helped one bit." "I feared..." Trisha replied, her voice low. "How long do I have to live?" "3 months at best..." Darien stood there with great sorrow and grief in his indigo eyes, they were widened and almost watering. He picked himself off the wall and ran off down the hallway, passing Schubaltz and Thomas. The bishounen colonel blinked, his shades budged upon the feeling of the wind. Over the loud speaker, they heard an all-familiar announcement. "Colonel Schubaltz and Lt. Schubaltz report to General Trisha's office immediately." "Wonder what the old windbag wants." Thomas followed Schubaltz toward the General's office. Inside, Trisha was putting her uniform back on, the brothers spotted a hospital gown on the chair by the desk. The older woman smiled at them, but it was a smile of sadness and pain. Schubaltz knew immediately something was terribly wrong. "What's up, doc?" Thomas asked, smiling his normally cheerful and geeky smile. "I have a few things I'd like to confess. Come with me to the main labs."   
"That's a suspencion capsule." Thomas blinked, he observed it rather well. "Like the ones the Zoidians were kept in!" "It didn't hold a Zoidian though." Trisha informed them, her hand on the door of the capsule. "This capsule is well over 200 years old, the Zoidians were wiped out sooner than that." "I see." Schubaltz's fingers stroked the cold metal of the capsule, then brushed some dust away from a symbol. It was a pitchfork with prongs on the stem. "This caspule..." Trisha said, softly but they could hear her. "...is where I found Darien." They turned their immediate attention to Trisha as sadness etched in her eyes. The old woman put her hands together and frowned, she was staring at the symbol on the capsule. "He's an Exemplar... a truly powerful magic-user... but even he's a rare case because he's got powerful psionics to boot. Darien predates anything in our history, in fact, he's not even from Zi to begin with. I did some research on Darien before he was released from the capsule. He was alive and well when Dorian City was destroyed by the hands of the Zenebas Regime. He was even alive when the Death Saurer wiped out the Zoidians. He... he remembered everything in his life with such clarity... I figured that if I lead him away from all the death and destruction that he would think that humanity wasn't a bad thing..." "Ma'am... if he's been alive for thousands of years and he's not from Zi altogether... and yet he's seen what humans and Zoidians alike are capable of when hatred gets in the way..." Thomas began, his expression grim. "...then he can never really be fully trained into thinking humans have a good side." "I think he knows." Schubaltz folded his arms, a smirk on his face. "Or he wouldn't be trying to get me in the sack." "Karl..." Trisha smiled as she talked. "...Darien has taken too much of a fondness to you to bring up any feelings of lust." "Really?" "I know him more and an old woman can tell you what she sees when she looks in her _grandson's_ eyes. Darien's eyes light up when he looks at you, his expression lightens big time." "..." Schubaltz turned from her gaze and looked at the capsule. "...I'm sorry but I cannot return his feelings." "W-why not!?" Thomas glared at Karl, confused. "You got an incredibly handsome man with extraordinary powers offering himself and the world to you on a silver platter and you say no!?" The strawberry-blonde colonel walked for the door, his hands on his arms. Trisha scowled, she shouted at him. "I know about Marcus, Karl!" Freezing in his tracks, Schubaltz's green eyes widened with shock. He looked at the doors in front of him, his feet unable to lift up and take him out of there. "Darien is better than Marcus! You need to stop living in the past, Karl!" "Trisha's right!" Thomas shouted, he was angry also. "If I wasn't in love with Miss Fiona, I'd fall for Darien myself! Wait! I _am_ falling for Darien... BUT anyway...!!" "...Don't misunderstand me, Thomas... Trisha. I do want to return the feelings. Darien is a wonderful man... I just..." "He loves you, Karl..." Trisha slid her hands in her pockets and looked at the capsule. "It'd be a shame to pass up a wonderful thing. You can't find your soulmate in only a week... think about it." "Take that leap of faith, bro!!! Trust me, you'll bounce!" Thomas pointed out, smiling. The doors opened and Schubaltz left not saying another word. Thomas groaned and smacked his forehead with his hand. "Thank-you, Thomas." "We tried." "I know. At least we got his foot in the door." "Yeah, well..." The lieutenant growled, his fist clenched. "If Karl don't act soon, he's going to lose Darien and will have his foot in his mouth while using the other one to kick himself in the ass! At least Darien _does_ love him..." "Hmmmm?" Trisha looked at the 20-year-old lieutenant, seeing the angst in his green eyes.   
  
  
  


**-Continued-**


	3. My Eternal Heart

  
  
  


**My Own Prison**  
_Part Three: My Eternal Heart_

  
  
  
"Remember the night where I was in a coma for three days?" Schubaltz asked softly, his arm against the window. "Yeah, the doctors said you grew mysteriously ill." Thomas responded, his green eyes blinked with confusion. "They were baffled as to what type though. We kinda feared it was the Black Plague." "No." Schubaltz almost growled upon speaking. "Marcus poisoned my coffee... this wasn't the first attempt on my life, but it would have been successful if I didn't think the coffee tasted weird and got another batch." "But Marcus was supposed to be your right-hand man. Why would he do a thing like that?" "Minister Prozen wanted me dead, he was sending his lackeys to do the dirty work.... Marcus just picked the WRONG Major to piss off." "...."   
  
"Colonel Schubaltz, sir..." A young woman with long red hair and wearing the tags of a Captain. "I'm Captain Yyelena, I'm Trisha's right-hand girl..." Schubaltz saluted her and nodded, then he saw the look in her golden eyes. "Something wrong, Captain?" "General Trisha... she went up to the mountain." "So?" "You don't understand, Col. Schubaltz. There is a certain thing about the northern culture that you should know. When a warrior feels that he or she is too old to fulfill the duties of a warrior, they'll go up on the mountain... to kill themselves in ritual seppaku." "...." It did hit him like a hammer. "So she is never coming back." "...yes, sir." He tightly closed his eyes and slammed his fist against the wall of the hallway, then he directed his attention on Yyelena again. "Does Aethelwulf know about Trisha?" Yyelena frowned upon hearing that, the young red-head looked away shamefully. "...yes. He hasn't left his room since. He won't even eat... Trisha was like a grandmother to him... considering the fact that he's well over 12,000 years old." "..." Schubaltz walked passed her and down the hallway, he drew a deep, composing breath as he walked. In the corner of his mind, he couldn't imagine Trisha going up the mountain to do away with herself, but this _IS_ her homeland after all. He seemed to recall what his nobleman uncle did when it was time for him to pass on. The Late Great Baron Truman Schubaltz died the way he lived, listening to opera while drinking himself into a stupor. The poor idiot choked on his own vomit. Good riddens. But Schubaltz couldn't recall if his homeland had a custom for funerals and such... "Hey!!!" The sudden, quick and angry attention he got from an irrate technician snatched him back into reality. Schubaltz looked directly down at the technician as he tried to repair the panel that housed some electrical equipment. "Watch where yer going!!" "*AHEM* Sorry." Schubaltz went around the person, but something drove him to go to the mountain to talk to Trisha before she did decide to kill herself in ritualistic seppaku. He bundled up in his winter gear and climbed into the Bearfighter, since his Iron Kong Mk-II was no more. The journey up the mountain was shorter than expected, Trisha was in an ice cave, contemplating. She was surprised to see Schubaltz crawling into the cave. "Karl... what a surprise." "Trisha... what's going on? Why are you going to do this?" Trisha frowned, setting down the dagger, she took her long silver hair in her hands. "I got cancer, Karl. I only have 3 more months to live. I decided to not burden myself or the Imperial army in Sovereign with my illness..." "But those men need you. They'll listen to you more than they'll listen to me." "But these things need to be done, Karl." Trisha looked at Karl with the saddest blue eyes. "You have your father's eyes..." Surprised to hear her say that, Schubaltz thought for a second, collecting himself. "What will happen to the men? To Darien? He looked up to you for support." "Darien is a big boy, Colonel... he's been that for many millenia. You see, Karl... Darien is immortal, he can never know what it is like to die." Trisha looked deeply into Schubaltz's eyes, there was a twinkle in her blue hues. "Darien knows all too well that happiness comes in very small doses, that is why he tries to get those 'doses' anyway he can. He doesn't want to be alone for all his eternity but that's the ultimate price he paid for his true mastery in the Arcane Art of Magic and Sorcery. No mortal man shall ever bear the weight and the power of True Immortality, he guards this secret and this burden well... he just wants... for someone to love him until it is time for them to find the Summer Country." "So he bears this burden on his own...." Schubaltz spoke with a very low voice. "For all 12,000 years of his immortal life, he's been alone." "Yes, it's hard to imagine, isn't it?" He sat down on an ice rock and bundled up in his fur coat, Schubaltz began to shiver a little. Trisha pushed a tin cup of warm water his way, the bishounen colonel took it in his hands and sipped the water. "He loves you dearly, Karl." "...." Schubaltz stared into the clear liquid in the cup. "...I do... I do love him too." "Then why aren't you confessing it to him?" "Because...." Schubaltz found his reason to be redundant and needless at best. "....I...." "Tell him how you feel, make him happy. Don't be afraid of rejection or being hurt. Take that leap of faith, trust me, you'll bounce." She was right, he was too afraid to admit that he was in love with Darien. Clasping the cup tighter, Schubaltz thought to himself, then from out of the blue. "I don't want him to carry this burden alone...." "Huh??" "I love him with all my heart, Trisha. I don't want to see him suffer anymore... suffer to make sure no mortal man ever gains the power to become Immortal. I want to share that burden with him." "Y-you're... you're speaking madness..." "No, I'm not..." Schubaltz put the cup down and stood up, nearly hitting his head on the ceiling. "You seen my style, I cannot bear to see anyone suffer needlessly and for long periods of time... this decision is final and I am absolute." Schubaltz crawled down the tunnel and into the open. Trisha sighed, but looked at the water in the cup. "At least I got him to confess that he was in love with Darien."   
  
"Darien." Schubaltz pounded on the door, then typed a code on his keypad. Inside the room, Darien was sitting at his desk, writing. "Darien, we need to talk." "Let me guess, Colonel... you want nothing to do with my love because Marcus burned you way too many times..." "Darien, I just wanted to tell you a couple things... hear me out." "Fine." Darien slammed the pen in the inkwell and turned around. "Speak. You're the Colonel." "..." Schubaltz looked down at the ground, then looked up at Darien. "I love you, Darien. I had been very scared to admit this for myself... I love you and I do want to be with you." A warm smile crept on Darien's handsome face, he brushed the blue strands of hair from his face. "Karl..." "Also..." Schubaltz walked up to him and slid his hands on Darien's shoulders as he leaned downward. "I don't want you to bear the eternally heavy cross of Immortality alone any longer..." That got Darien's attention immediately, he looked up at Schubaltz. "Karl... do you realize what you just said?" "Yes, I am aware... but it shouldn't make any difference. I love you, I want to be with you. I don't like it when others suffer like this." The blue-haired Major smiled, tears in his violet eyes. Schubaltz smiled and wiped them away with his finger, but before they could lean over to kiss, gunshots rang out. Darien snapped awake to see that ice pirates had somehow entered his abode. He looked down in time to catch Schubaltz as he fell forward into his arms. The back of his uniform was bloody a thin trail of blood trinkled down his chin. Darien held him close as the ice pirates continued their raid. Without warning, Darien screamed into the air as lightning shot into their bodies from the Heavens above. Darien's eyes were white but chilled like the blackness of the Void. ...The bulletwounds on Schubaltz's back were starting to heal...   
  
  
"MOTHERFUCKER!!!" Thomas threw another clip of ammunition onto the floor and reloaded his assault rifle. "I HATE ICE PIRATES!!!" "Good! They hate you too!" Yyelena shouted, then fired her machine gun at a bunch of harpoon weilding maniacs. "Die already!!!" The dark blonde lieutenant fired some more, getting another pirate in the chest and stomach. The doors opened and two men stepped into the command room, the pirates with the barbed, spiked harpoons threw them at the men. Darien caught the ones thrown at him but Schubaltz was ran through. Thomas screamed in terror, seeing his brother drop while impaled on harpoons. But to their utmost shock, Schubaltz grabbed the handle of the harpoon and in a spray of blood, he peeled himself off the harpoons and staggered around for a second. The ice pirates dropped their harpoons with their jaws wide. Thomas and Yyelena were also in total shock, Thomas moreso than Yyelena. The ice pirates opened fire on Darien and Schubaltz, but the colonel was shrugging the bullets as if they were nothing and he was wearing full assault riot gear. Schubaltz whipped his pistol out and returned the volley of fire. "Don't just stand there looking pretty, lieutenant!!" Thomas shook from his haze and continued to take out the pirates, back to back with Yyelena. Darien opened fire as well but the rounds in his assault rifle were electric rounds. They shot lightning as they hit their mark, making loud thunderous booms.   
  
  


**-Continued-**


	4. Sweet Kiss Goodnight

  
  
  


**My Own Prison**  
_Part Four: One Sweet Kiss Goodnight_

  
  
  
  
Warning: _Mild Karl/Thomas incest, nothing TOO severe..._   
  
  
"Are you hurt anywhere else, Lt. Schubaltz?" Yyelena asked, patching Thomas up with a medical kit. "Tell me where it hurts." "Just my arm got hit by the explosion..." "Good." The red-headed captain finished patching up Thomas's arm. "Don't move it too much, you'll be fine." "Easy for you to say, this is my steering arm." Yyelena walked up to Schubaltz and saluted, her expression still in shock. Schubaltz's uniform was blood and torn to say the least, but the skin and flesh underneath was still in tact and flawless. The effeminate colonel saluted, but his green eyes were glazed over with shock. "Casualties are high, sir. They surprised us." "I'll say." "Mjr. Aethelwulf, please. Don't make jokes like this." Yyelena reminded him. "Please, Yyelena... he meant no harm." "Y-yes, sir." She remained composed, but her façade cracking. "Anything else?" "Clean-up the base as much as possible. We'll bury the dead afterward." "...yes, sir." Yyelena walked away, leaving Schubaltz and Darien to their privacy... Darien's slender hand touched Schubaltz's cheek, his fingertips gently touched his soft, silky strands of blonde hair. Breathing lightly against Darien's warm skin, the sounds of his own heartbeat was fast, yet not too compressing. Darien's index finger tucked under Schubaltz's chin lightly, his thumb pressed against his pouty lips. The blue-haired immortal tipped Schubaltz's head up slightly, so they were eye-to-eye... slowly and silkenly, their lips touched. The brim of Schubaltz's uniform hat caused the headpiece to press backward against Schubaltz's scalp, letting some soft, wheat-gold hair escape their confines. Darien used his free hand to procure Schubaltz's hat from his head while his arms snaked around the effeminate colonel lovingly. Schubaltz's hands clasped the fine fabric of Darien's black Imperial uniform, their lips never leaving the other's. But like all good things, the kiss had to end, the two immortal lovers parted slowly. Their eyes gazed longingly into the other's, Darien's deep pools of violet was a near contrast to Schubaltz's light green. "You need to repair your uniform, kitten." Darien joked light-heartedly, then with a soft, low tone of voice, he whispered, "Meet me in the garden after dark." "This fort has a garden?" Schubaltz blinked, but as quickly as he did his double-take, Darien was leaving for the door. The cereulean-haired arch-mage turned around and gave Schubaltz a wink, plus he puckered his lips. Schubaltz grinned and winked back, but his bubble of love was bursted by Thomas's loud voice in his right ear. He jolted around, his arm swinging with him, the Colonel bopped Thomas in the shoulder. "DEEOW!!!!!" Thomas screamed bloody murder, it was his injured arm. "YOU IDIOT!!!!" "Sorry..." Schubaltz put his arm to his side and put his hat back on his head. "What do you want, Thomas?" Thomas grabbed the folds of his brother's uniform, then unbuttoned it apart. Schubaltz's white button-up shirt was stained with blood and torn where the harpoons went through and the bullets entered his back. Then the quirky lieutenant took off Schubaltz's white shirt, revealing to everyone in the room his nice, studly body. "Are you quite done yet?" "Karl, I saw you get ran through by barbed, spiked AND poisoned harpoons!! That's not the kicker... the kicker was I saw you peel yourself off them and fight as if nothing happened!!!!" "Nothing did happen, Thomas. I assure you..." "Nothing???" Thomas showed him the bloody shirt. "This proves otherwise!! What happened, Karl? You can tell me." Schubaltz pulled the shirt together and buttoned it up, his expression changed from shocked to sad. "I took a daunting task onto myself, a task I vowed to share with Darien." "That is...?" He turned toward the door and stepped off the platform, Schubaltz tipped his hat downward with his hat. "From this day on, I can never die... I can never get sick, grow old, get poisoned..." "You're immortal." "Ja." Schubaltz's eyelids fluttered shut, he continued down the hallway. "But.... wait!!" Thomas rushed to the door, watching his brother leave in the darkness. "What about me, Karl!? How's it going to feel when you watch me on my deathbed, old and grey!? Your own flesh and blood brother!!!" "...." Tears formed in Thomas's sad green eyes, his hands balled in fists. Without hesitation, Thomas darted for his brother, slinging his arms around him despite the burning pain. He buried his face in Schubaltz's side, letting out a series of deep, loud sobs. Thomas looked up at Schubaltz, tears falling softly down red, anger-tinted cheeks. "I don't want to lose you, Karl!!!! I don't want you to go!!!!" "I-i'm not going anywhere, Thomas..." Schubaltz's own eyes were watering, his hand stroked Thomas's curly dark-blonde hair. "I'll be here like I always am. I maybe Eternal Walking.... but I'll never leave you." "But what about 45 years from now?? I want to be with you forever..." "...Thomas... I....." "K-karl!!!" Thomas buried his face in Schubaltz's side, his shoulders rose up and down, indicating that he was crying.   
  
  
He watched Thomas sleep, his arm still bandaged and slung to his chest. The moons shined in the window, barely illuminating the room. Examining the skin where the harpoons impaled him through, he felt new, smoother skin where it would have been scar tissue. His green eyes shifted back to Thomas as he slept soundly thanks to him crying and painkillers for his arm. //I don't want Thomas to be alone either. He is mortal and now I am not... he doesn't accept that.// He shifted in his sleep, but winced upon leaning on his arm. Thomas moaned softly and painfully, but got help from Schubaltz as he pulled Thomas in his lap, cradling him motherly-like. Instinctually, the lieutenant had his hand on his brother's chest. A few soldiers passed by outside, making somewhat of a ruckus, but Thomas remained asleep. //I don't know if Darien would allow it... but I don't want to leave Thomas... I can't. Thomas is my only family.// Some time passed, the moons were no longer in the window. Thomas had scooted back into his own bed, Schubaltz continued to watch his brother. Getting up upon the alarm clock hitting 2 AM, he put his hat back on and turned for the door. He turned around, leaning down so he was nose-to-nose with Thomas. Schubaltz's right hand rested on the other side of Thomas's body, his blonde hair slipped down off his forehead. //What if Darien says no? I-i'll lose Thomas forever...// Schubaltz's eyes watered some upon the very thought of it all, but it prompted him to do the unthinkable. His lips pursed slightly, then pressed gingerly against Thomas's. He kissed his brother for a few seconds before lifting himself up and leaving the bedroom. As soon as the door went click, Thomas's eyes slowly opened.... he woke up the moment Karl's lips touched his....   
  
  


**-Continued-**


End file.
